By Hayleigh Gowans

Staff Writer

In a vote of 730 to 126, voters in the Jamesville-DeWitt School District have approved a proposed budget for 2016-17 with a total amount to be about $53.6 million, an increase of 2.1 percent over the 2015-16 budget.

There is no expected tax rate change to reach the nearly $37.9 million tax levy, and it is estimated to remain at $23.37 per $1,000 home assessed value. State aid was set at $12.9 million, one of the highest amounts since the late 2010s, said Superintendent Alice Kendrick.

“We are very thankful that the community will continue to support the school,” said Kendrick.

Voters also elected three members to the board of education: Patrick Brown with 655 votes, Bruce Van Schiack with 510 votes and Virginia Murphy with 560 votes. A fourth candidate, Jennifer Eckrich received 478 votes but was not elected to one of the three open seats.

In addition, the proposition to authorize the school to purchase one 65-passenger diesel wheelchair school bus, two 65-passenger diesel school buses and one 30-passenger diesel wheel chair school bus with air conditioning at an approximate cost not to exceed $418,000 was passed with a vote of 730 to 126.

With 660 votes “yes” to 196 votes “no,” residents also approved a total budget of $1.4 million for the DeWitt Community Library.